Modern Assassins
by Laurenlynn
Summary: Altair and Ezio were both on their death beds when they awaken in a time not their own. But they aren't old men anymore they are back in their prime. Upon meeting a young assassin girl, they must learn the ways of the new assassins while trying to find a way back to their own times.
1. Chapter 1

Altair snapped his eyes open. He was painfully aware of a great pressure on his chest and the light coming from above blinding his eyes. He tried to move out from under the pressure when he realized it was a man. Altair rolled the man off of him and stopped. He looked down at his hands, they didn't have the wrinkles that he knew they had just hours before. He sat up. He was in his old robes and could feel the familiar weight of his weapons of his back and waist. Altair gripped his biceps. They were hard as rocks like they used to be when he was at his prime, his hand reached up to his face and he felt no creases in the skin nor the beard he had grown. He stood and again was met with surprise. He stood up straight. His spine no longer curved forcing him down; he was back to his full height. How did he get here? He had been on his _death bed_, he had welcomed death with welcome arms and now he was here. He was no longer an old man, he had his youth back. _Damn death, betrayed me. _He thought bitterly. He turned his attention to the man on the floor who was now moaning. He was wearing the same white robes as Altair but they were different. The cut was different but the weapons he wore were the same, along with the red sash. The man pulled himself over on his back before opening his eyes. Altair calmly watched as the man blinked several times then rubbed his eyes. The man was feeling his body the same way Altair had, touching his face and his arms. The man finally took notice of Altair and stood up,

"How the hell did I get here?" He asked. The man stretched out to his full height too coming up to a couple inches taller than Altair.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Altair replied. The man turned looking about the room. The walls were stone and so was the floor. Altair looked up to see the blinding light again. It was straight lines across the ceiling in sections. They would stop abruptly then start again.

"How old do I look?" the man asked catching Altair's attention again. Altair looked at him, his hood was down, his brown hair was on the long side pulled back and tied off. He had strong features and the scar on his lip was identical to his.

"Around your very early twenties." Altair replied, "How about me?" the man glanced at Altair whose hood was also down.

"I would guess middle twenties." The man stated. He frowned at the sigh the scar on Altair's lip. His hand went to his own, "How did you get that scar?"

"That would be only my business." Altair coolly replied. The man raised his eyebrows before speaking once more,

"I'm not supposed to be twenty; I'm supposed to be in my sixties! I was dying, how did I turn up here back in my youth?" the man questioned running his hands through his hair. Altair crossed his arms over his chest,

"Seems like death cheated us both." The man nodded,

"So it seems." Altair visibly tensed at the sound of approaching footsteps. Part of the wall slide to the side and a hooded figured stepped in. Altair was on the person in seconds. The figure was a head shorter and had a small frame compared to Altair or the other man. Altair's hidden blade teasingly pressed against the person's throat.

"Who are you?" the man asked looking over Altair's shoulder.

"I should be asking you the same damn thing!" the figure spat. The voice gave it all away. The person was a woman. The man would have let her go and be apologizing but Altair's grip held fast. The woman slammed her head into Altair's making him recoil. She grabbed the front of his robes and slammed him into the wall hitting his head again. Altair hit the floor with a grunt struggling to get back up. The woman advanced on the man.

"I demand to know who you are and how you got in here!" she said. She flung her leg behind her catching Altair in the knee cap. It dropped him to one knee. The woman twisted her fingers into the man's chest. He could feel the tip of her hidden pricking his skin under his shirt. She looked as strange to the two men as they looked to her. She wore brown leather boots, they only coming up to her mid shin. Her dark pants clung slightly to her legs outlining her figure, along with her shirt. Her chest was almost flat though making the man believe she wrapped her chest. She had weapons strapped to various parts of her body and he knew she had more that could not be seen. Her arms were bare and he could see the muscle lining them. Her hood was pulled down over her eyes and he could only see her lips.

"I can only answer for myself _bella, _but I am Ezio Auditore as for where I came from that I do not know." The woman's lips parted in shock,

"_The Ezio Auditore? _No you can't be you died in 1524! That's almost four hundred and eighty-eight years ago!" the woman let go of Ezio and turned towards Altair who had just given up and sat against the wall,

"And…and you!" She pointed to Altair, "You're Altair Ibn- La'Ahad! You died in 1257! There's no way you guys can be them!"

"We were under the impression that we had died too. What year is this?" Altair asked. The woman looked at Altair then back at Ezio,

"2012. Wait. I know…I know a way you guys can prove you guys are actually real." The woman pulled something off her weapons harness and threw it to Altair. Altair caught it and dropped it as soon as he had,

"What is this? What sort of foul witchcraft do you use?" he said pressing himself against the wall as much as could. The small black box was glowing on the floor. She picked it up and turned to Ezio who looked just as frighten. She held it out to him and he stepped back,

"Why does it glow like that?" he asked eyes wide. A smirk crossed her face reminding him of what he was like in his glory days.

"It's called technology and that is called a phone." Altair opened his mouth to speak but the girl held up her hand to him. She cocked her head to the side as if listening to something. She touched one finger to the side of her head where her ear should be and talked,

"What do you mean he hasn't returned? The kill should have only taken at the most a day, it's been three." The girl turned towards the door and her belt buckle caught the light, the symbol of the Assassins was engraved on it and he could now see the red detail all over the leather belt.

"I'll be there in a moment. I have two guests with me though; they will have to go with me. Or at least one of them." Ezio narrowed his eyes at the girl she was talking to herself. The girl glanced up at them,

"I wasn't talking to myself I was talking to my second in command." She pulled down her hood to reveal a bright green eyes and brown hair. Her hair was pulled back tight into a braid. She grabbed something from her ear and held it up for them to see,

"It's called a communicator, I can talk to whoever is wearing one and they can talk to me." Ezio looked more fascinated by the ear piece then Altair. Altair crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall,

"Your second in command?" Altair questioned, his voice had a curious hint to it under its huskiness. The girl turned around towards him.

"Yes. I am the Head Assassin here. My name is Ari Roshanak." She said. Altair cocked his head to the side,

"The fearless death giver?" He said. Ari pulled her hood back up over her head,

"Yes 'Son of None' now please we must be going." She touched the wall and it slid back revealing stone staircases and wooden doors.

"First things first, you cannot go walking around in those robes. You'll attract too much attention." Ari turned right at the stairs and lead them to one of the doors. She opened it and walked in. Altair and Ezio looked around at the racks of clothing and the weapons hanging on the walls. She picked up a pair of pants similar to the ones she wore. She handed one to Altair and the other to Ezio,

"See if those fit. They should though," She looked at the weapons on Altair and Ezio,

"Hmm weapons are a little out of date but they will have to do for now until I can show you how to use a gun."

"A gun?" Altair asked pulling off his weapons, Ari nodded her head,

"Yes, now shirt with sleeves or without?"

"With." Both said in agreement. She tossed them to the two men and turned her attention to the weapons. She turned back as Altair stripped his tunic off and she quickly averted her eyes. Ezio smirked seeing the attraction between the two and pulled off his own shirt. Altair frowned at the way this black fabric clung to his biceps, chest, and stomach he preferred it looser for more movement.

"It allows plenty of movement," Ari reassured seeing the disproval on Altair's face. "The shirts have to be tighter for the Kevlar. Oh wait you don't know what that is." Ari stepped towards Ezio,

"I want you to hit me." Ezio looked at her like she had bumped her head,

"I'm not going to hit a woman." Ezio said, Ari raised one eyebrow,

"Just hit me in the stomach put about half your strength behind it so you don't break your hand." Ezio still looked skeptical and Altair looked amused that she thought Ezio would break his hand. Ezio hit her with a well-aimed punch to her middle. She didn't even flinch. Ezio shook his hand a bit,

"It feels like I just hit a steel plate, is that this Kevlar?" Ezio questioned.

"It is. This way a bullet won't kill you." Ari said, she pointed towards a row of boots,

"Pick some I don't know your size then I'll fit you with a Kevlar vest." Ari turned towards the vests rummaging thought them. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Ezio and Altair shifted through the boots. How did she end up with two _dead _handsome legends? This was not what she expected when she woke up this morning. _Wait, _Ari thought, _I didn't even go to bed last night. _She shook her head, stifling the yawn that came with that thought. She had made two kills last night and neither of them had been very pretty. Ezio was the first one to find boots to his liking and came up to Ari. Ari pulled the vest of the rack and hand it to him.

"It goes over your head and then straps on the sides." Ari instructed. Ezio put it on and Ari was relived she didn't need to look at his well carved stomach muscles and defined chest now. She handed a vest to Altair too and she caught one last glimpse of his muscles before the vest covered them. The two men strapped there weapons back on as Ari grabbed two strange looking objects from the wall. A piece of the object slid out and she tapped it against the table before sliding it back in with a click. She repeated this again with the other object. Both men were looking at her with weird stares,

"This is called a gun." Ari said sliding them into a holder on her back at her waist. She motioned to the door and the men stepped out and Ari touched her hand to her ear once more,

"Ryan? I want you down on level 4 I have some trainees for you…no they are experienced fighters just not with our weapons…ah you'll have to see when you get down here you can't miss them." Ari turned towards Altair and Ezio,

"Stay here. Ryan is coming down to run you through everything you need to know. The world is quiet…different…from what you are used to. I have a Novice to find I'll back later tonight." Ari turned and left throwing her hood back over her head and taking the steps two at a time. Altair watched her go trying not to watch her backside as she climbed the stairs,

'So…" Ezio began with a chuckle. Altair looked at him with a glare,

"Why must you always have conversation?" Ezio clutched a hand to his heart,

"Oh you have wounded me!" Altair rolled his eyes and focused straight before him. Ezio shuffled his feet grabbing at the vest,

"I do not like this 'Kevlar vest' it feels heavy." He complained,

"It's not as heavy as amour stop acting like a child." Altair said. Ezio crossed his arms over his chest leaning against the wall muttering to his self,

"Stop acting like a child… Idioto qui se prend-il me dit de cesser d'agir comme un enfant." Altair ignored Ezio as he caught sight of a man coming down the stairs. He tensed, but relaxed as he heard the man talking to thin air.

"No Ari, I'm on my way now…of course not why would I freak out at the sight of them that's ridiculous." The man stopped in front of the two men he held out his hand to Altair first,

"Hi my name is Ryan." Altair ignored his hand and said,

"Altair Ibn La'Ahd." Ryan furrowed his brow and Ezio clasped his hand,

"Don't mind him. He's as stubborn as a mule. I'm Ezio Auditore." Ryan's jaw went slack as he looked from Altair to Ezio. Then he laughed, Ezio looked at him with confusion and Altair narrowed his eyes,

"Oh you guys are good! Did Ari set you up to do this? Wow of all the pranks she picks this one! You guys are hilarious." Ryan said chuckling, he touched his ear,

"Very funny Ari! Who really are these guys?" He paused as he listened to Ari's response, 'What do you mean there…for real?" Ryan looked at the two men and his eyes rolled up in his head and he fainted. Ezio and Altair watched him the hit the ground with a thud. Altair and Ezio smirked as they leaned back against the wall.


	2. Chapter 2

"Think we should do something about him?" Ezio said nudging Ryan with his boot, "Poor garcon." Altair looked up from examining his fingernails,

"What does that mean?" He questioned. Ezio leaned back on his heels,

"Lad, boy, youngster, need I say more?" Altair looked back at Ryan twitching on the floor,

"He's not a poor boy. How did he become an assassin if he faints so easily?" Altair scoffed. Ezio didn't dare touch that subject with a ten foot pole. He became preoccupied with his boot laces casting sideways glances at the older man next to him. Ezio just couldn't stand it anymore,

"Did you have any children?" He questioned, easing away slightly from Altair. Altair turned his steely glare on Ezio,

"You are aware that I do not like conversation, and you still talk. You must want to go back to the arms of death again." Altair scoffed. Ezio narrowed his eyes,

"You think you could just easily get rid of me, do you bastardo?" Altair glanced at Ezio,

"Please, I could kill you while I sleep." Altair said arrogantly. Ezio turned towards Altair mouth open to shout curses at him when he was interrupted,

"Please, gentlemen, calm yourselves. I would prefer no blood shed down here, this stone just absorbs blood and it's very tiring to get it out." Altair and Ezio both swung their gazes to an older looking man. He looked to be in his late forties, and was finely dressed. Altair studied the man trying to figure out the man's accent, it sounded European to him.

"My name is Aaric, I was the former Head Assassin before I stepped down for Ari to take my place. I assume you have meet her correct?" Aaric said. He didn't offer his hand to either of them. Something didn't feel right about him and Ezio could tell Altair was feeling the same thing.

"Yes we did." Ezio said as it became evident Altair was not going to start conversation with this man. "She sent Ryan down her but he seems to have fainted at the sight of us." Aaric looked down at Ryan on the floor and said,

"Ah so it seems, I'll have another man sent down immediately to assist in your training." Aaric gave the two men a small smile, "Ryan was never much of an assassin, and I always wondered why she chose him as her second instead of the logical choice." Ezio crossed his arms over his chest, fighting down the sudden urge to defend Ari having just met her or not.

"Who was that logical choice?" Ezio asked with curiosity. He glanced at Altair who looked bored almost.

"My son Tristan. He has asked Ari's hand in marriage several times but to no avail I'm afraid. But that matter is not the one at hand. This way to the training rooms." Aaric stuck his hands in his pockets and walked off down the hall. Ezio followed with Altair behind. Altair kept letting his fingers brush the air around his throwing knifes, no more trusting this man then Ezio. Aaric pushed open a door to a large room. The ceilings were high with wood beams crossing them. There was everything in this room for training. There were dummies in the corner and beams, ropes, and walls to practice free running on. Several weapon racks were placed around the room, some with weapons Altair and Ezio recognized and others without.

"My son will be in soon, feel free to look around just don't touch anything you don't know. I am afraid until we find a way to get both you men home that you will need to help out around here. As soon as you finish your training you will start working once again as assassins. We are stretched a little thin at the moment and need as many fighters as we can get. I will be seeing you men later." Aaric stepped out of the room closing the door behind him leaving Altair and Ezio to themselves.

"I don't like that man." Ezio stated examining the rack of knives.

"Neither do I. He was too…_calm_." Altair stated.

"Not to mention too clean." Ezio snorted. Altair looked the closet to being amused he had come since they had met, kind of like his son…

"I do not remember if I had children of my own. I wonder if I did and if they miss me." Ezio said looking down at his feet. Altair let out a small sigh hearing the pain in Ezio's voice,

"I cannot remember either. It seems the only thing I know of my…older life, is that I died and nothing else. Maybe it's best that we do not know therefore we cannot be distracted by feelings of loneliness_." _Ezio scowled. Altair had started off sounding nice and had turned nasty at the end. Ezio stuck his hands in his pocket and turned away from him trying to control wanting to punch him. The man could not say one nice thing or even civil thing for that matter. Thankfully Ezio did not have to be alone with him for too long as the arrival of Aaric's son brought him back to focus.

"The name is Tristan. I don't want to shake your hand; I'm your trainer I'm not supposed to be nice." Tristan said with the same look on his face Altair called normal. Ezio would have bet his weapons that Tristan was somehow related to Altair with a look like that. Ezio awkwardly dropped his outstretched hand and took a half step back. Altair remained quiet with a look of distaste written on his face.

"First things first, you need to learn how to shoot a gun." Tristan said.

Ari felt the sensation of falling and knew there was little to nothing she could do about it. Glass broke and wood splintered as she was flung threw the window with a hard kick to her chest. She twisted around in midair desperate to grab onto something, anything. Ari punched her finger tips through one of the window panes feeling the contact of wood and glass into her hand. She swore softly as she hung there blood running down her forearm. Ari had found the Novice she was looking for. She grimaced at the image of him hanging from the stairs the noose around his neck and the carvings into his body. Someone was hunting her Novices this was the third this month that had been killed and butchered. And she certainly didn't want to become the fourth. She looked down to the street; if she landed just right she could get away with maybe a fracture to her leg. Ari sighed, hearing the cocking of a gun. There was a man at the window his gun pointing at her head the Templar cross gleaming around his neck.

"These can never be easy can they?" She said to herself. In one swift motion she pulled her Glock with her left hand and brought it up firing twice into the man. He fell back with a yelp and Ari braced her feet against the wall,

"One for the money…" She murmured hearing the guards coming down the stairs. She slammed her gun back into its holster angry.

"Two for the show." Ari eased her wounded hand off the shards of broken class some staying in and ripping out of the wood frame. She grimaced,

"Three for the show, four to get ready and here we go." She jumped back as gun blast burst through the window. Her back arched as she brought her gun up, her perfectly executed back flip leveling her with the window. She squeezed off four shots before her momentum carried her below the window. She bent her knees waiting for impact. She smacked into the ground with thud, Ari lay on the ground for a moment not being able to breathe, her head spinning. She had hit hard and she knew she was going to pay for it. She crawled onto her hands and knees wincing at every movement. She shakily got up going into a run before the guards could make it down the stairs of the building. She didn't want to go to the medical bay as she slipped silently into base. It would be embarrassing for the Head Assassin to be so injured. She stumbled going down the hall to her room and swore. The door opened to her left and Ari swore again. She turned and came face to face with Altair. Ari raised a bloody finger to her lips and started to walk away not liking the high school crush feeling that Altair gave her. Altair grabbed her wrist on her left hand,

"Why did you not go to your medic?" He said keeping his voice low. Ari shook her head sighing,

"Because it's embarrassing, I have medical supplies in my room. I'm fine." Ari slipped her wrist through his grip and turned her knee giving way. Altair caught her waist before she fell,

"You're fine?" He asked her. Ari grimaced,

"Oh shut up." Altair helped her to her room where she collapsed on her bed.

"Where's the medical supplies?" Altair asked. Ari opened her eyes to look at him,

"Under the bathroom sink, you're not going to recognize half the stuff though." Altair turned,

"Then you'll have to tell me." Ari sighed holding her right hand at her wrist close to her chest. She bowed her head groaning as pain washed over in a new wave. Altair came out with her medical kit and set it on the bed next to her,

"Why are you doing this?" Ari asked as Altair took her damaged hand. He started pulling the broken glass out of it. Altair remained quiet before talking,

"I know what it's like to be injured and trying to preserve your image as the Head Assassin." Ari looked at his face as he pulled more glass out. He didn't look more than her age and a nerve in his jaw was twitching. By what she had read about him and how he had acted in her few hours with him that was probably the nicest thing he had said to someone in a while. No scratch that…probably his life. Ari closed her eyes against the pain and everything turned black.

Altair was pulling glass out of Ari's hand when she slumped against him. Her head touching his chest, he inhaled sharply at the tingling sensation of that one touch. What was it with this girl? First she has him tending her wounds and next he's acting like a love sick teenager. He shifted her body weight around putting her more comfortably up against him so he could go back to working on her hand. The breath on his neck from her was making him nervous. He hurriedly wrapped her hand and started disarming her. He took the clips out of the guns like Tristan had shown him and laid them on the table next to her bed. Altair removed her Kevlar and felt along her ribs, she had dislocated one. He could put it back but he would rather the medic do that. Altair froze as a figure poked his head in the door.

"Hey Ari? Oh! Wow um…I'll come back…" Ryan said going to close the door.

"Get in here." Altair growled. Ryan obeyed the older assassin without question and closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Altair snarled removing Ari's boots. Ryan looked on with one eyebrow raised in question,

"It's hard to ignore the bloody handprints in the hallway." Altair examined her swollen ankle feeling for breaks,

"What happened? Why isn't she in the medical bay?" Ryan asked going to Ari's side. Ryan lifted one of her eyelids to look at her eyes,

"She's out cold! She needs to see the medic." Ryan insisted going to pick her up. Altair stopped him with a hand,

"No. I heard your Order is weak. It's not good for your assassins to know that their Head Assassin was injured. I have experience in these things." Ryan looked at Altair,

"She told you not to take her." He said.

"If that was a question then yes. You don't know what it's like to be the one people look up to and be injured. You have to keep up an image, that's strong so that the rest will stay strong also. " Altair said putting a blanket over the top of her. Ryan pulled up a chair from the desk,

"I'll stay with her." He said simply ignoring what Altair had said. Altair nodded his head in agreement and walked down the hall to his room. He closed the door and leaned against it sinking to the ground. He was sharing the room with Ezio and didn't really care if he woke him up with the slamming of the door. Ezio rolled over, sighing heavily, but not opening his eyes. Altair rubbed his hands against his thighs, Ryan had given him pants that he called "sweats", the material was soft enough but they just bothered him. He gripped his biceps feeling the warmth of his bare skin. He closed his eyes trying to access any memory he could but nothing was coming to the surface besides waking up in that room with Ezio. Altair opened his eyes getting up running a hand through his hair. He flopped down on the bed and Ezio sat straight up.

"Wha-what was that?" He said half asleep. Altair rolled his eyes,

"Nothing princess, go back to sleep." He growled, Ezio frowned stretching his arms,

"Altair it's too early to deal with your snarkiness."

"Then go back to sleep." Altair snarled. _Snarky…I'll show him snarky… _he thought turning his back on him.

Ezio walked into the training room to find Ari trying to kill a punching bag. Ari didn't pause punching as she said,

"Where's Altair?" Ezio sat down on one of the benches,

"Still sleeping. He looks funny when he sleeps, he twitches." Ari snorted as she brought her leg up into a round kick across the punching bag, she grimaced and rubbed her leg. Ezio looked at her with concern,

"What's wrong?" Ari grimaced stretching her legs out,

"Screwed it up pretty bad last night. Jumped from like seven stories or something like that." She said nonchalantly. Ezio looked her face over. She looked familiar and talking to her was easy, almost like he had known her for most of his life. She smirked at him again he saw himself in her face.

"Who are your descendants?" Ezio asked catching Ari off guard. She stopped and looked at him,

"Um well…" Ari looked down, "Do you really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to." Ezio said matter-of-factly. Ari looked down at her bare feet.

"Well I'm from the Auditore family." Ezio looked at her,

"My family?" Ari nodded her head going back to the punching bag,

"Yes, your family." Ezio looked at her with a curious stare,

"How did your last name end up being Roshanak?" Ari punched the bag hard wincing,

"I never knew my parents, I was…or still am…an orphan, and I chose the last name for myself when I became an assassin." Ezio could tell the tension in her voice meant to not talk about it. He eyed the punching bag,

"Anybody tell you that you hit like a girl?" Ari stopped dead and turned her head towards Ezio,

"They don't call me the Angel of Death because I hit like a girl." Ezio smiled innocently at her,

"Hmm interesting…" Ari sighed,

"If you're challenging me to a fight, you'll lose sorely with or without a weapon." Ezio cracked his knuckles,

"Really?" Ari rolled her eyes and held her arms out,

"Come at me bro." Ezio charged her stepping in to undercut her jaw. Ari moved back making him overstep and miss, she turned bringing her hand down into his kidney.

"I told you that you would lose." Ari said, Ezio smirked,

"Or will I?" Ari rolled her eyes. Ezio took that as an advantage and creamed her in the side of the head. She hit the ground, and she thanked herself for putting in the new mats on the floor. Ezio laughed,

"Some Angel of Death you are." Ari jack knifed to her feet letting her forward motion carry her upward. Her feet slammed into Ezio's chest and she pushed off flipping. She rotated once and landed on her feet. Ezio was sprawled out on the floor; he coughed once before saying,

"Alright I believe you Angel." Ari stuck out her hand to Ezio, he grabbed it and she helped pull him to his feet,

"I like you better than Altair." Ezio said laughing,

"That does not surprise me." Ari said laughing herself, "So Ryan is going to take you and Altair out in the city today, but as innocents to get you used to the layout, then as soon as you learn it get better with the weaponry and what not you'll start working as assassins again under me. You better get Altair up." Ezio sighed,

"That's going to be lovely." Ari snorted,

"Try not to lose any body parts." Ezio waved her off as he walked off.

**Hi guys! Sorry this took so long to update I started school and I'm playing two sports so I haven't had much time. The chapters are going to move a little slow but the events are going to progress faster so bear with me! Enjoy please review! Criticism is welcome; I'd like to become a better writer so I need to know what I can do better or do completely different! **


	3. Chapter 3

"I said I was sorry!" Ezio yelled as Altair slammed him up against the wall in their room. Altair snarled bringing his hand back, fist coiled tight, to punch Ezio.

"Waking me up by throwing cold water on me is not something you do to someone older then you. Not to mention it's not very pleasant." Altair scoffed at Ezio, his face close to his to ensure the younger man got the message.

"Capito! Je suis désolé!" Ezio said trying to wiggle out of the man's grasp. Altair punched him once, quick and hard, cracking his nose. He let the younger man drop from his grasp onto the floor.

"Don't forget." Altair growled. Ezio put a hand over his bloody nose swearing in French at Altair. Ari watched from the doorway holding back a chuckle. She was fluent in fifteen languages including French and if Altair heard what Ezio was saying he would beat the man to next Tuesday. Ezio was cocky, but apparently not as cocky as Altair was. No, Ezio was cocky, Altair liked to bathe in arrogance on his free time. Ari reminded herself of the difference. Altair and Ezio were in a power struggle with each other, and Altair was winning as of now. Ari knew that Ezio would soar when Altair did something stupid because of said arrogance and put himself to shame even more. Ezio got to his feet and flexed his muscles; Altair turned staring the man down but Ezio stared back. The Head assassin pushed herself off the wall to defuse this before she had two dead new assassins. She calmly walked in and smacked both on the back of the head hard. Ezio recoiled trying to figure out what happened. It reminded Ari of a dog hit by a stick and it jumping back to plan its next move. Altair just about took her out, that didn't surprise her; she was one step ahead of him. He lunged out for her on pure instinct and she stepped back letting him over extend and he turned and grabbed her right hand hard. A flash of blinding pain came over Ari from the contact to that hand. She couldn't help herself as she screamed at the pain feeling new blood seep from the wounds on it.

"Oi! Que faites-vous!" Ezio wrenched Altair's grip off of Ari's wounded hand. He slammed his palm into the chest of stunned man and made him stumble back. He grabbed Ari's upper arm as she sucked in breaths to battle the pain.

"Vous êtes d'accord? I mean, are you okay?" Ezio asked concerned.

"Yes I'm fine." Ari replied slipping her arm out of his grip. She glared at Altair but his face remained emotionless. A part of her understood him, she had been like him, even was still like him on occasions, when it came to people. To being friendly. To keeping relationships. Ari had been a cruel heartless person, that's how she rose so quickly to power. But what had happened was that she recognized it when she got into power and changed herself. She toned down, started treating people differently.

"Ezio leave." Ari said quietly. Ezio looked from her to Altair,

"I don't think that's wise…" Ezio began.

"Now." She said forcefully. Ezio backed out of the room closing the door behind him with a skeptical look on his face. She and Altair stared at each other for a good couple minutes, none offering to break the silence. Altair was the first to speak,

"Let me look at your hand." He said matching her quiet tone of voice from earlier. She let him take it and undo the bandages to examine the bleeding hand. Ari tried flexing her fingers and couldn't make a fist, it had swollen back up.

"I…I shouldn't have grabbed your hand. I didn't remember." He said not looking her in the eyes. Ari was taken back, this man could stand up to 500 battle generals who had it in for him and be arrogant and prideful as ever and he had just came damn near an apology. She looked him in the eyes, smiling a bit,

"It's fine. No harm was done." Altair slid his hand up to her wrist, finding smooth skin. He expected her to be tough, calloused, and hard; but she was looking delicate. He for the first time had just taken in how small she was compared to him; her head didn't even reach his shoulder. Ari was looking up at him with a soft expression; she had just let all her defenses down to make him feel more comfortable. He coughed and dropped her hand.

"Ari!" She backed away from Altair dropping her gaze from his and opened the door. She felt his eyes on her as stepped out.

"Ryan what is it?" Ari asked. The man looked upset, and he was out of breath like he had run all the way up here.

"We found another one dead. Same MO." He said leaning one hand against the wall.

"Damn it!" Ari swore curling her good hand into a fist.

"It gets worse," Ryan grimaced, "Come on." Ari cast a glance over her shoulder at Altair with Ezio standing to the side of him.

"Grab your gear guys, you've got three minutes!" Ari said running after Ryan.

"Talk to me Ryan!" Ari said as she slammed to a stop hitting the button for the elevator to the lower level of the compound.

"It was Cal." Ryan said. Ari stopped pounding the button and looked at him.

"Cal?" Her breath became stuck in her throat. It was like her body had become numb, and everyone was moving in slow motion. Her mouth moved but nothing came out of it, she couldn't help the tears that threaten to spill over and down her face. Cal was a twelve year old trainee who had been top of his class. He was on track to be a Master Assassin if not making Head Assassin at some point. Ari had been personally training him. This was like a slap in the face, insult to injury; it had just become severely personal. "Where did they find him?" Ari got out pushing down all emotions that threatened to rise.

"Lower tunnels. It has to be someone on the inside, or they wouldn't know about those tunnels." Ryan muttered to her under his breath. He gripped her arm as they stepped out into the lower tunnels. Ari would have bolted if it wasn't for Ryan holding her in place. Poor Cal was strung up like the rest of the bodies had been. Hang man noose and carvings in his body. She stepped closer reading the words carved into Cal's back. _I'm watching. _Ari stood up a bit straighter and scanned the dark tunnels. The only sounds were Altair and Ezio entering. She held up a finger to silence them before they talked, blinking twice. It was like looking through a thermal camera, it was a gift she had only figured out a year or two before and still didn't know the depths of it. She swept her eyes over the three shimmering green bodies and then into the shadows. Ari locked eyes on a glowing red figure raising its arm at her.

"Hit the deck!" She screamed as the bullets from the machine gun cut through the air. Ezio dove over the top of her as Altair hit the ground with a groan. Ryan fell into the ground in a heap, and Ari yelled,

"Ezio, help Ryan!" As she jack-knifed to her feet, leaping forward keeping her eyes rooted on the red figure. It turned and ran, for the end of the tunnels. Ari sprinted after it, cursing at her sore leg, urging herself to move faster. She ripped her gun from its holster and fired hitting the man in the back. The figure fell to the ground and Ari approached cautiously. She nudged him with her boot and reached down to check for a pulse. A hand grabbed hers throwing her over his shoulder onto the ground in front of him. Ari landed hard on her back, knocking the air out of her. She flipped over and slammed the butt of her gun into his face knocking the man unconscious.

"Ari?" Altair said.

"Here" She grunted trying to massage the cramp out of her hurt leg. "Are you okay, are you hit?" She sat up, holstering her gun.

"I am fine. The bullet hit the vest and stopped." Altair said holding out his hand. She gladly took it and hauled herself to her feet.

"Ryan was hit in the leg, but it will heal." Altair continued, "What are you going to do with him?" Ari looked down at the man; she didn't recognize his face, Templar possibly? She touched her ear,

"I need men down in Tunnel Six. Bring prisoner restraints and Doc. I want double guards posted at every entrance/exit."

"Yes ma'am." came the reply from her com. Altair moved back towards Ryan and Ezio and left Ari to herself. She looked down at the man once more before turning her back on him to see how Ryan was. Altair glanced at her and his eyes widened.

"Ari! Behind you!" Altair was already lurching forward, hand going to his throwing knives. Ari spun around and heard the bang of a gun going off at almost point blank range. She touched her hand to her chest below her throat, and blinked at the feeling of blood seeping through her fingers. The man fell to the ground before her a knife in his own throat. Ari sank to her knees, everything spinning.

"I got you, hang on Ari." Altair said above her. She felt herself fall into strong arms and Altair put his hand over the bullet wound pressing down on it. Ari's breath caught in her throat and Altair's face swam before her, becoming hazy.

"Ari! You need to stay awake! ARI!" He yelled at her. Ari's pupils dilated, her vision going black. The last thing she heard was Ryan calling for help over the com and Altair's voice,

"Ari, hang on! Open your eyes damn it!"

**Hey guys! Sorry this took me FOREVER to get another chapter. I could give you a bunch of excuses but you don't want to hear them (haha). Anyways, sorry it's kind of choppy and short. Don't worry Ari doesn't die ****. Hang in there! Next chapter is going to be tons better! Thanks! Review please! And if you have any ideas or anything hit me up! **


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